To fully get rid of head lice, you need to carefully clean and disinfect a wide range of things and areas in your hour home. This is because a head louse that has fallen off human hair can survive for a period of time. Lice can hid and survive in beddings, clothing (such as hat, scarf, or hood of a coat), stuffed animals, pillows, plush toys such as teddy bears as they wait to find a new home in another hair. According to many head lice control experts, head lice can be anywhere an infested person has been, and this is why it is critical to disinfect your home thoroughly, especially your children’s bedrooms. To help you get rid of these lousy parasites, here is a quick cleaning check-list worth considering:

1. Bag and place all hair pretties, headbands, combs, and barrettes in a freezer for about 12 hours or a dishwasher on the sanitize cycle. You can also set them aside in tightly closed bag for a few days or a week.

2. Items such as goggles, earrings, glasses, and headphones should also be wiped gently with soap and water.

3. Wash all sweaters, jackets, hats, and sporting gear if they are dirty. You should note that it is not the washing that kills the head lice but the heat produced in the dryer. So, strive to put these items on high heat for about 40 minutes. You can put items that cannot tolerate high temperatures in a freezer for 12 hours or isolate them in a tight bag for 5 days.

4. Clean your bedrooms by stripping all the bed sheets and mattress pads and placing them in the dryer (high heat) for 40 minutes. Mattresses and areas around them should also be thoroughly vacuumed. To completely get rid of the parasites, you should repeat this step daily for 1 week.

5. Don’t forget your car seats and head rests. If you have leather car seats, wipe them with a warm rag. You can also remove the seat covers then dry them on high heat for about 40 minutes or place them in a freezer for 12 hours

Generally, head lice cannot survive for long after they have fallen off human hair as they often require the heat of the scalp to survive. The above tips, therefore, are just precautions that you should implement to completely get rid of the parasites.

After the infestation is over, it is highly advisable to do head lice checks 1-2 times a month as a safeguard against another infestation. Using other control methods such as repellant sprays is also vital for school-going children. Hair worn in a bun or braids can also help keep lice at bay. If you are not a DIY person or you don’t have the time to cleaning the highlighted areas or items in your home, you can hire the services of head lice control firms. Most of them have the expertise and tools to help you get rid of head lice fast and professionally.